Political reform in Egypt

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections in September, making a surprise reversal Saturday that could mean he will face a challenger for the first time since taking power in 1981.

It was the first significant move toward political reform in decades in Egypt, a powerhouse in the Arab world that has had one-party rule for more than half a century.
The announcement came amid increasing calls for political reform from the domestic opposition and from the United States and after historic Iraqi and Palestinian elections that brought a taste of
democracy to the region.

Opposition figures and reform advocates welcomed Mubarak's announcement, but some feared it may only be a superficial change to appease pressure at home and abroad. The step came as a dispute sharpened with the United States over Egypt's arrest of one of the strongest proponents of multi-candidate elections.

Mubarak said in a speech broadcast live on Egyptian television that he had asked parliament to amend Article 76 of the constitution, which deals with the election of the president.
"The election of a president will be through direct, secret balloting, giving the chance for political parties to run for the presidential elections and providing guarantees that allow more than one candidate for the people to choose among them," Mubarak said.
Mubarak said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." His audience, at Menoufia University, 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Cairo, broke into applause and calls of support, some shouting, "Long live Mubarak, mentor of freedom and democracy!" Others recited verses of poetry praising the government.
Mubarak said any amendment would be put to a general public referendum before the presidential polls, scheduled for September.

Mohammed Kamal, a leading member of the ruling party's policy-making committee, said parliament would propose its amendment within two weeks and he expected the public referendum would come within nine weeks. Egyptian television reported that parliament convened emergency sessions to begin discussing a revision.

"If it happens, it would be the first time in the political history of Egypt that a chance is given to somebody who is capable of shouldering the responsibility ... to come forward for presidential elections with parliamentary and popular support," Mubarak said.
Egypt is the most populous Arab nation and the second largest recipient of U.S. aid in the world. It was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel, in 1979, and often mediates in the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

But as the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has made increasing calls for democratic reform in the Mideast, Washington has seen friction with its crucial Arab ally, which has not held multiparty presidential elections since its 1952 revolution deposed the monarchy.
Just last month, Mubarak rejected opposition demands to open presidential balloting to other candidates. And in recent meetings between opposition groups and the government, it was agreed that election changes would only be discussed after September's presidential referendum.
But the United States has been pressing for reform -- particularly since the arrest last month of
Ayman Nour, head of the opposition Al-Ghad Party and a strong voice for open elections.
Nour was detained January 29 on allegations of forging nearly 2,000 signatures to secure a license for his party last year. He has rejected the accusation, and human rights groups have said his detention was politically motivated.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned Nour's detention and put off an expected trip to Egypt next week -- in part because of the spat over Nour. A senior U.S. official, citing Rice's displeasure with the arrest and other actions by the Egyptian government, said Rice wanted to see what steps were taken before going to Cairo.

Mubarak, who became president in 1981 after the assassination of Anwar Sadat, has never faced off against an opponent in elections. Egypt holds presidential referendums every six years in which people vote "yes" or "no" for a single candidate who has been approved by parliament.

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and most influential Islamic group, said it would consider putting forward a candidate for the presidency if an amendment is passed.
The group will study any changes "and if we find such interest, then we will not hesitate in naming a candidate," said the Brotherhood's leader, Mohammed Mahdi Akef.

The Brotherhood would likely be the strongest rival for Mubarak in any fully open race in Egypt, but it was not known if the group would be able to run even if the constitution is revised.

The Brotherhood remains banned, though it is given a margin of room to operate. Its supporters, running as independents, hold 17 seats in the 454-seat legislature.

Pro-reform activist Abdel Halim Qandil welcomed Mubarak's announcement but raised concerns on how much it would be carried out. "I'm very suspicious about bureaucratic tricks against democratic demands."

Another activist, Aida Seif el-Dawla, said Mubarak's announcement was only made as a concession to the United States. "Let us wait and see, because a free campaign of more than one candidate requires more than a statement from the president," she said.

Mubarak has been nominated by his ruling National Democratic Party to stand in four presidential referendums, winning more than 90 percent of the vote each time.
Mubarak has not officially announced his candidacy for a fifth term, though he is widely expected to be nominated by his ruling party.

Time flies

"I've already been in Egypt for three weeks. It definitely does not seem like that long. Time has flown by VERY fast. At this rate, I'm going to be back in the states very soon. Not enough time to do everything, but I guess that's life." See what Chris is up to in Egypt.

Bay Area vs. Michigan - the challenge

To let people know what is happening with Salaam sales in the USA you should know about the Bay Area and Michigan challenge. In the past week AIESEC in the Bay Area have organized 15 meetings for the Salaam program. Networking meetings, sales meetings for new and old partners, events meetings (for a reception event) - it is all happening. So the word was sent out to AIESEC Michigan to see if they can meet the challenge. Can they set up 15 meetings in one week ?

Michigan has accepted the challenge and issued it out to all of AIESEC USA. One week March 14 - 20 to raise as many sales calls as possible. For us in this corner of the world we will be counting the Salaam tally and hoping to create at least TEN new positions for Salaam internships ! All LCs can participate but watch closely as AIESEC MI steps up to the Bay Area. Who will be the Salaam champion ?

Jeff in Tunisia

Find out about our latest Salaam arrival : Jeff in Tunisia -

"How is Tunis ? - It is amazing ! Tons of Arabic and French. The food is totally $$ , and Aiesecer's are really cool people and love to talk ( which is good for me) ; ) . The city has some ofo the most amazing views you can ever see, and I happen to work in the most beautiful area! Everyday I pass mountains, the bay, and the Med Sea...oh and I work on top of a mountain that overlooks the coast of Tunis....absolutely breathtaking ( I'll show you when I figure out how to put some pics on this thing....DODY...where are you ? ). And the food....well simply put it's tres bon !"

Hariri and AIESEC

I am posting this from Nisrin's blog :

Lebanon Lost A Great Leader

The first thing I heard today wasn't Happy Valentines Day or good morning, instead I woke up to my mom saying, "Rafik al-Hariri died. They killed him. They just showed it on the news. They are blaming Syria." A car bomb killed him and at least 10 others. My mom called my grandmother and she said everyone was fine. She told my mom, "They haven't seen a fire (a bombing) that big in their lifetime since the civil war."It appeared to be the biggest bomb in the city since the Lebanese civil war ended in 1990.

The blast could be heard even outside Beirut's city limits and shattered windows in buildings hundreds of meters away. (Reuters)"I haven't seen anything on this scale in Beirut since the dark days of the civil war," said CNN's Brent Sadler from the scene. (CNN)Lebanon is holding Syria responsible for the killing of al-Hariri. A group called Victory and Jihad have claimed responsibility for the killing of Al-Hariri.Commentators said Syria would most likely be blamed for the killing and as a result feel the repercussions hardest.

But many of them wondered what Damascus stood to profit from having a hand in al-Hariri's death."What exactly would the Syrians gain from this? Precisely because most people would say that this is the Syrians who have done this. It doesn't make any sense," Rime Allaf, Middle East analyst at the Royal Institute for International Affairs in London, UK, said."It becomes a question of how much the US and France want to escalate against Syria. The Americans will hold Syria directly responsible.

They will not seek conciliation over Resolution 1559. UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen was seeking a delay in its implementation, but now I think there will be no delay," he said.(Al Jazeera)Former Prime Minister al-Hariri, resigned from his position in October after the amendment of the the constitution which extended President Lahoud's term. He served as PM from 1992-1998 and from 2000 until his resignation. He recently joined opposition and planned on running in the elections in May.Many people looked up to Hariri for his leadership. He proved to be a great leader by reconciling and rebuilding the country after the civil war.

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The Hariri Foundation in Washington D.C has been working closely with AIESEC US in looking at setting up our operations in Lebanon. In working with the President and another colleague of the foundation, they have done nothing but bend over backwards for AIESEC. We send our strongest regards to the family and friends of each person who lost their life in this tragic event.

The Peace Deal

A look at agreements reached during a summit today between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II.
Ceasefire: Abbas said Palestinians will halt all violence against Israelis. Sharon said Israel will stop military activity against all Palestinians. Israel would also stop its controversial targeted killing operations against wanted Palestinians, as long as the Palestinians kept militants under control.

After Sharon's declaration of an end to military operations, the two sides would go back to operating as they did before the 2000 outbreak of fighting: In Palestinian-controlled areas, including most of Gaza and eventually most West Bank towns, the Israelis would coordinate with Palestinian security forces if they wanted to arrest someone.

Prisoners: Israel will immediately release 500 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture, with another 400 to be freed later.

Cooperation: They agreed to establish joint committees - one to determine criteria for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and the other to oversee the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Ambassadors: Egypt and Jordan say they will return their ambassadors to Israel. The diplomats were recalled following the outbreak of violence in late 2000.

House calls: Abbas received an invitation to visit Sharon at his ranch in southern Israel. Sharon also said he would like the next meeting between the two leaders to be in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Ceasefire

Israeli and Palestinian officials are expected to announce a formal ceasefire halting four years of bloodshed, when they meet for a landmark summit in Egypt on Tuesday.

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas are to meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Shaikh for the highest-level meeting between the two sides since 2003.
Palestinian and Israeli officials said the deal on a truce had been reached in pre-summit talks.

"We have agreed to declare a mutual ceasefire," said Muhammad Dahlan, a close Abbas aide who has been in the talks. "This ceasefire means a halt to all actions against Palestinians and Israelis in accordance with the road map."

But it was unclear whether the ceasefire would be respected by all Palestinian groups, who have followed a de facto truce for more than two weeks after Abbas urged them to help him revive peacemaking.

Defiance
In a sign of lingering defiance, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and groups linked to Abbas' Fatah faction said they had fired three mortar bombs at a Jewish settlement in Gaza.
Israeli sources said there was no damage.

"We have agreed to declare a mutual ceasefire. This ceasefire means a halt to all actions against Palestinians and Israelis in accordance with the road map"

Muhammad Dahlan,Abbas' aide Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar said the armed group hoped Abbas would not make any declaration without getting approval from the various factions. Ending a visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said both Sharon and Abbas had accepted invitations to the White House in a few months for talks with President George Bush.

"There should be no doubt about the commitment of the United States to this process at this time - no doubt about the commitment of the president, no doubt about my personal commitment," Rice said at Abbas' West Bank headquarters.

Aid money
Bush has pledged $350 million in aid to the Palestinians. Rice announced $40 million would be given to them within 90 days in a "quick action programme" to help in job creation and rebuilding infrastructure.

Palestinians have welcomed any withdrawal from occupied territory but criticised Sharon's vow to hold on to large West Bank settlement blocks in any future peace deal. Speaking to Aljazeera from Jerusalem, Israeli political analyst Maier Cohen said Sharon's pullout plan would not be enough.
"Withdrawal from the cities of the West Bank is neither the first nor the last step as Israel should abide by the internationally-backed road map plan for peace like ending settlements, removing settlement outposts, supporting the chairman of the Palestinian Authority or the Palestinian President Abu Mazin as much as possible and not to take unilateral measures in Jerusalem."

It is happening in Egypt

AIESEC in Egypt kicked off their year with an awesome conference and national elections - you can find out all about Chris' perspective on the difference of AIESEC around the world on his blog.

Youssef and Jen are currently globe trotting with Youssef in Dubai for the next two weeks and Jen in Egypt. We will be working with each country to best support the facilitation of more then 100 exchanges this year.

In the meantime MasterCard (St. Louis) has accepted another trainee from Tunisia - Rhaid and CAL Insurance (San Francisco) will welcome their first Salaam trainee Shady from Egypt. A new partner just signed on in the Michigan area, Capital Investment and AIESEC in Michigan is in the process of matching interns to one of their current partners.

That is more then TEN Arab interns either in the USA or no their way !!!

Youssef and Claude will update on all of the American interns in the Arab world next week.

Thanks,

Salaam team